Not A Chance
by Merl Laurence
Summary: A missing scene from the end of Ki'ilua. Not really a coda, just a really short scene that I wanted to see between Kono and Steve. Features a bit of Danny and Lori - but not much.


Not A Chance

Disclaimer: I do not own H50  
>Summary: A missing scene from the end of Ki'ilua. Not really a coda, just a really short scene that I wanted to see between Kono and Steve. Features a bit of Danny and Lori - but not much.<br>Spoilers: Ki'ilua, Ep. 2:10 (duh.)

A/N: So there are a million and one other codas/epilogues out there and they're all so good. Which added to my reluctance to write something regarding Ki'ilua. But, from a Steve/Kono shipper's standpoint, this is what I wanted to see. And rather than feeling hurt by the exclusion of Kono from the end, I was reminded by _Ghostrider _(thank you, btw) that Kono's role was actually somewhat pivotal in finding their fearless leader.

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>Peju<br>South Korea

Steve McGarrett was out like a light.

After the adrenaline wore off, suffering from Wo Fat's beatings and torture, he finally gave in to the exhaustion that kept threatening to claim him. He sat on the floor of the helo, his grip firm on the rifle within his hands, his back and shoulder leaning against Joe for support and his eyes slipping shut from the knowledge that he was now - safe.

When Steve regained consciousness minutes later, he woke to the other unfortunate side effect of having all that adrenaline wear off.

He was in extreme pain.

And although he was somewhere unfamiliar, his presence of mind hadn't abandoned him all together. He remembered what had just happened and knew, at least, that he was still somewhere in Korea.

He looked up at the woman standing over him, remembered seeing her and feeling her hug him as Chin and Danny carried him to the helicopter.

"Lori?" he asked. He didn't bother to hide his surprise or his discomfort or confusion at seeing her. "What are you doing?"

Lori opened her mouth to answer but before she could get a word out, Kono walked in with a metal bowl and a few towels. "Boss? You're up," Kono said, relief evident in her tone.

Steve found that he was unreasonably and genuinely happy and comforted to see Kono. Never mind 'why' and 'where' they were at the moment. "You weren't in the chopper," Steve blurted suddenly, surprising himself. He blearily eyed Kono.

Kono leaned back on her heels and gave Lori an 'I told you so,' look. The blonde smirked back, appearing uneasy. "I'll leave you to him, then," Lori said, unsuccessfully hiding her disappointment as she exited the little wooden hut that Frank had set up as temporary shelter.

Kono turned her attention back to Steve and knelt down next to the rickety cot that he laid in. "I know, I'm sorry. We don't have much time, Boss. Once the helo landed, you kinda passed out," she said, watching helplessly as Steve started to fade off. She looked him over again and frowned. "Boss? Boss - Steve? Wake up," Kono said, shaking him slightly till he regained consciousness again.

"Kono? You're here?" he asked, clearly groggy from fatigue. "I didn't see you earlier. On the helo," he said again, attempting to get up this time.

Kono shook her head. She gently pushed Steve back and down onto the cot. "Yeah, Boss. I'm here now," she added as she grabbed a small towel and soaked it briefly in water before squeezing it out. She reached out tentatively and wiped gently at his face with the cooling cloth.

Steve settled back onto the cot and looked at Kono. "I thought you would have been the smart one," he said, his voice heavy from the events of the day.

Kono arched a brow in question and threw the cloth back into the bowl.

"When I didn't see you, I thought maybe you were the smart one to stay back home, in Hawaii. Safe," he said smirking.

Kono laughed a little then and shook her head. "Not a chance, brah. Guess I'm not as smart as you think I am. Trust me, I would have wanted nothing more than to be there on the helicopter with you guys, Steve. But, someone had to track you. I had to setup base camp here so that I could use SAT/NAV to find out where Wo Fat had you and then you guys were on the move. I was afraid we wouldn't get to you," she said.

"Oh. But, then you found me," he said, sounding impressed. He reached up and touched her cheek before the strain of having his arms suspended over his head for hours got to him again. He dropped his arm and Kono reached out to hold onto his hand with both of hers. He squeezed back, finding that he needed her touch.

"Yeah. We found you."

"Mm sorry for dragging you - all into this," he said, his eyes growing heavy again. "A minute there, I thought I was dreaming you - hallucinate - ting," Steve said, closing his eyes.

"Steve? No, Boss, wake up, we're leaving now, we're going," Kono said, again gently shaking him. Steve mumbled incoherently before allowing himself to be dragged upright by Kono. Propping him against the wall, she ran a hand through his hair, pushing his head back and then clutching him firmly on his shoulders to steady him. "Danny? Danny?" she called.

"How's he doing?" Danny asked as he rushed in.

"He's out. How much longer before we head off?" Kono asked.

"Now. Let's go," Danny said as he and Kono hoisted Steve up between them, exiting the little hut.

Danny watched Kono shake her head and couldn't help but worry about her. "It's okay, you know," he said. "Someone had to be here, to track Wo Fat, to run the Intel needed," he said, reassuringly.

Kono snorted softly and smirked. "Wow, since when were you psychic, Danny? Or were you eavesdropping?"

"What? No. It's not hard to see, Kono, what's in front of us sometimes," the blonde detective said.

"Whatever - oof!" Kono said, struggling a bit as they made their way towards the vehicles that would be taking them to the plane. "He noticed that I wasn't there, in the helo," she said.

Danny couldn't help but chuckle in reply. "Of course he would," he said.

"I notice everything," Steve murmured suddenly, grimacing and catching both Danny and Kono off guard.

Danny couldn't hold in his laugh then. "Alright tough guy. Don't think this makes you less of jerk, okay? I mean, just because we had to save your ass and carry you outta here," he said.

Steve's grimace turned into a genuine smile as he looked from Danny to Kono. He glanced ahead, towards Chin and Joe's waiting arms, with Lori standing on the side and Gutches and Jacks and the other SEALs surrounding them. "Thanks guys."

End.

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A/N: Sorry, I don't plan on continuing this. Technically, I know they wouldn't have stopped/stayed back at Frank Bama's place for so long. But then again, that guy apparently has lived in Korea long enough to convert Tangerine into a chicken coop and drink as much Soju as he wanted. With that said, maybe he knew something Joe didn't - in any case, like I said, I don't anticipate writing anymore concerning Ep. 2:10 because I just wouldn't know how to. Thanks for reading.


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